SB 938: Peace officers: training requirements.

Session Year: 2025-2026
House: Senate
Latest Version Date: 2026-06-16

Current Status:

In Progress

(2026-06-24: Coauthors revised.)

Introduced

In Committee

First Chamber

In Committee

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law contains numerous provisions governing the qualifications, standards, and training of peace officers. Existing law specifies circumstances that disqualify a person from holding office or being employed as a peace officer, including, among other things, having been convicted of a felony. Existing law requires specified peace officers to successfully complete a training course prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) before exercising the powers of a peace officer. Existing law requires the commission, for those instances where individuals have acquired prior comparable peace officer training, to adopt regulations providing for alternative means for satisfying the training required by a specified provision of law. Existing regulations provide a Basic Course Waiver to individuals with qualifying out-of-state or federal law enforcement experience whose law enforcement training, experience, and education are deemed by POST to demonstrate sufficient law enforcement knowledge, skill, and proficiency.

This bill would disqualify a person from being a peace officer if they were previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer by a federal agency engaged in immigration enforcement and personally assisted with immigration enforcement, as defined, after January 20, 2025, except as specified. The bill would authorize a person to apply for eligibility as a peace officer only after a minimum cooling-off period of 10 years from the date of separation from prior the federal immigration enforcement agency. To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

This bill would prohibit an individual who was hired by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of detention operations or removal operations, on or after January 1, 2025, from being eligible to apply for any Regular Basic Course Waiver. By increasing duties on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Discussed in Hearing